Following the movie’s disappointing theatrical run, Night Swim finds itself climbing the streaming charts. Based on the short film of the same name from Bryce McGuire and Rod Blackhurst, the former of whom would write and direct the feature-length effort, the 2024 movie centered on a former baseball player and his family moving into a new home, only to discover their backyard pool is home to a malevolent entity. Led by Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon, Night Swim was largely panned by critics and only a modest financial success, grossing $54.7 million against its $15 million production budget.
Now, just shy of eight months after the movie hit theaters, Night Swim is finding success on Prime Video. The Blumhouse film, which saw a generally favorable review from iconic horror author Stephen King, briefly held the No. 10 position on the streaming platform’s Top 10 in the US chart. Though the movie has since dropped from the Top 10, it is the second movie on the Popular Movies chart, confirming it’s still trending highly for the platform.
Night Swim’s Streaming Success Isn’t Entirely A Surprise
Its studio alone is notable for fan-favorite horror titles.
Though it may not currently be situated in Prime Video’s Top 10 anymore, the fact that Night Swim climbed so high after eight months may not come as much of a surprise to some. Those who did see the movie in its initial release were not as harsh as critics, but still largely mixed, with the film currently holding a 43% approval rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Even still, some recognized the potential for Night Swim to become a cult film over time, in part to the movie’s unintentional hilarity.
One of the other major reasons why the movie’s streaming success doesn’t come as a surprise is the fact it hails from indie horror powerhouse, Blumhouse, who have frequently delivered titles that have been hits with audiences, even if underwhelming critics. The studio’s prior release to Night Swim is the ultimate proof of this, with 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s not only becoming Blumhouse’s highest-grossing movie to date, but also having a 55% divide between critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
With late December and early January having also seen Wonka, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Color Purple dominate the box office, Night Swim clearly coasted by audiences in its initial release, making others curious to see the movie when it landed on streaming. Though it may have premiered on Peacock first, NBCUniversal’s platform is still growing, with Prime Video having a wider reach, thus bringing the film to more audiences. As new audiences continue to discover the movie, it will be interesting to see if Night Swim‘s streaming success grows.
Source: Prime Video
